Scars
by Shadedfeather
Summary: Alfred and Ivan are forced into a school project together. At first they're unwilling to work together, but everything changes as they learn more about each other and about the scars that both of them tries to hide.
1. Chapter 1

Alfred was always the popular one. He was the quarterback on the football team, he was the class clown, and he was beyond handsome. Ivan was always the scary one. He would sit alone in the back of the classroom, somehow managing straight A's without taking any notes. He was taller than pretty much every other student and his bulkiness wasn't fat. The two were never seen anywhere near each other, seeming to be complete opposites, but one fateful day would change both their lives for the better. It was December 16, getting close to the Christmas dance at Hudson High, which would be on the 20th, and most of the students were focused on finding dates. It was just like every other day for Ivan as he sat by the window and daydreamed about sunflowers and warmer places, for he had always dreamed of going somewhere very warm. But, suddenly, the teacher called his name. He slowly turned his head to stare at her and she gulped, handing him a slip of yellow paper before continuing around the class. Ivan looked down at the paper and read,

_Winter Assignment_

_ You will be pairing up with the person who has the same colored dot as that on the back of your paper. The two of you will choose one thing about the upcoming dance to focus on and will help your school prepare. The list you can choose from will be at the front of the classroom. Please come and sign your name to whatever you and your partner choose, and, remember, even though this is for a grade, have fun!_

Ivan growled angrily and looked up to see that the other students were already getting with their partners, yelling out the colors on the back of their paper and pushing fellow classmates out of their way. Ivan turned his paper over to see a red dot. He wasn't overly fond of working with others but it didn't seem he had much of an option. He glanced around the room. If he had to be paired with anyone he hoped it would be someone like Matthew or Kiku. They were quiet and seemed to keep to themselves, not as annoying as some of the louder people in the class. But, it seemed like they had already found their partners, and, just when he was starting to dread who it could be, a loud, obnoxious voice yelled, "WHO ELSE HAS A RED DOT?!" Ivan groaned. He could see that his day was already completely ruined. He held up his card so that the blonde could see, and, after an exaggerated sigh, Alfred jumped down from the desk he had been standing on and sauntered over to where the Russian was sitting. He huffed. "I can't believe I was paired with the Commie." Ivan glared at him, but Alfred didn't even flinch. "Well, get up. We have to choose a job and I wanna get there before the fun ones are all gone."

"You pick. I'll wait here." Ivan turned away from, going back to his daydreams.

"Whatever, man" Alfred rushed to the front of the classroom, pushing through other students to pick the best job. He just got there in time to smack Feliciano's hand out of the way and scribble his and Ivan's names down under refreshments. The small Italian boy looked really disappointed. Alfred laughed victoriously before returning to his gloomy partner, a smirk on his lips. "We're taking care of refreshments. I hope that's ok with you."

"Da, that is fine." Ivan stood up, shaking his head, "But you could have chosen something easier. You do realize we will be getting food for 300 people, da?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine! We can just get 300 burgers from-"

"Don't even say it." Ivan sighed. "The bell rang. I will be going to lunch now." Alfred frowned, pushing his glasses up higher on his nose.

"Ok, dude, I'll see ya later. We need to talk about what we're gonna serve." Alfred smirked again before running off to join his friends, glancing back at Ivan once or twice. Ivan sighed. This was going to be a very long week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's so late! I tried to write it on time but I actually forgot what was supposed to happen in this chapter and, once I remembered, a lot of crap happened, like midterms and losing friends. But, it's finally done! And, it's also longer than the last chapter, if that makes up for anything. I hope you like it! Oh, and, I don't own Hetalia. I forgot to put that on my last chapter. :P**

Alfred wasn't sure how he felt about being paired with the Russian. He hadn't really noticed Ivan before today, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he wasn't paired with one of his friends or his brother, Matthew. As he headed to the lunch room with his friends, he thought about the different things he had heard about the guy. He hadn't heard much, except something about him eating children and sending his four huge dogs after anyone who visited his home, but that was a little hard to believe. Alfred sighed and looked over to see Ivan sitting completely alone in the corner of the lunch room with his untouched lunch in front of him. He didn't seem very happy and he kept shooting glances at Toris, a shy Lithuanian boy that was making out with Feliks. Gross.

"Alfred, are you even listening to me?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Alfred jumped, being torn from his thoughts and looked at Arthur with a blank expression on his face.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

Arthur turned red and looked away. It had been hard for him to gain the courage to ask Alfred to the dance and Alfred hadn't even heard him. "Uh, never mind, it's nothing." Gilbert snickered and Arthur sent him a glare. "What are you looking at, anyway?"

"Ivan, he's sitting alone over there." Alfred continued to stare at him and Arthur and Gilbert blinked in confusion. "Let's go join him."

"What?" Matthew looked at Alfred with a concerned face. "He always sits alone. Why are you suddenly interested in him?"

Alfred turned red and glared at his brother. "What do you mean? I have a project with him, remember? It's now my job to be interested in him and, as the hero, it's not like I can allow him to be lonely anyway."

"If it were anyone else we would understand, but there's a reason to why Ivan is always alone. Did you not see the way he used to treat Toris? And he called it love! Pfft" Francis scoffed, wrapping his arm around Arthur. "He is very cruel to those he says he cares for and he is also very scary. Just look at hi- OW! Why did you hit me, mon amour?"

"Don't touch me, bloody frog!" Arthur's face was red and he looked like he was about to punch Francis again. "And don't call me that!" Alfred and Gilbert laughed at their friends but Alfred's mind was soon wandering towards Ivan again. There was something about Ivan that intrigued him. He didn't know what it was, the fact he didn't know anything about the guy, the horrible relationship with Toris, or maybe just the project, but something had Alfred hooked. Ivan was a mystery, and there hadn't been many mysteries in Alfred's life for a while. He started walking towards Ivan's table and his friend's hesitated before following.

"Hey, Ivan" Alfred said, sitting next to Ivan, smiling up at him with shining, curious eyes.

"Oh, hello Alfred…" Ivan said, smiling slightly. "Why are you over here?" He wasn't really happy to see the stupid blond. It was bad enough that he had that project with him.

"Well, you looked kinda lonely over here, and I also wanna talk about the project. We're gonna need some kind of money for this thing and the amount the school is giving us won't be enough for any good food, so what kind of fundraising ideas do ya have?" Alfred's smile faltered as Ivan's face turned into a tortured look. "What is it?"

"Nothing" Ivan was quiet. Did that mean he would actually have to spend time with Alfred outside of school? He really couldn't wait for this horrible project to be over. He looked around to see that Alfred had also brought his annoying friends with him. "Hello Matthew, Gilbert, Arthur, and Francis" He nodded to them and they nodded back, sitting down around the table and staring at Ivan awkwardly.

"You guys could always do a car wash." Gilbert suggested and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"You do realize it's the middle of winter, right? They would probably get sick."

"Oh yeah… well, it's still an awesome idea!"

"It sounds stupid to me. How about a bake sale? I could make some of my famous scones and you could sell them to the entire school." Arthur grinned.

"More like infamous. OW!" Francis rubbed his arm where Arthur had hit him. "It's just the truth, mon amie. But, I will be more than willing to bake for your fundraiser!"

"I like that idea! We could ask for permission and set up a table during the lunches. Let's meet up after school so we can ask together." Alfred looked at Ivan expectantly and Ivan sighed.

"Da, let's do that. Do you even know what food we will be getting?"

"No, but we still have a week to decide, right? It'll be fine!" The bell rang and Ivan grimaced.

"I guess I will be seeing you soon then." Ivan grabbed his stuff, throwing away his food on his way out, a frown set in place as he thought about the annoying little American. He supposed it wouldn't be _that_ bad to have some company. It had been a while since Ivan had anyone to talk to, other than his sisters of course. He still wished he had gotten paired with someone a little… quieter.

-After School-

Alfred rushed to where Ivan was waiting, a goofy smile on his face. "I'm getting excited about this! I hope he says yes!" Alfred said, grabbing onto Ivan's wrist and dragging him towards the office. "And, I was thinking about it and I think we should be the ones to cook. It would be more fun and this fundraiser is supposed to be ours anyway, right?"

"I- uh, no, I don't think that would be a good idea…" Ivan said, cheeks slightly pink as he stared at Alfred's hand.

Alfred stopped. "Why not?"

"Well, we would need a kitchen, da? And we would need ingredients. How are we to get these? You cannot come to my house."

"Oh, don't worry about that. My parents are fine with us using their kitchen." Alfred continued toward the office with a flustered Russian in tow. He knocked on the door and waited for the principal to say, "Come in" before he released Ivan's wrist and walked in.

"Hey, Alfred" The principal smiled warmly. "How can I help my favorite student?"

"We got a project in Mrs. Jarrett's classroom. We're supposed to help out with the Christmas dance and we chose to get the refreshments but the school doesn't have enough money for us to get what we want so we have to have a fundraiser. Can we have permission to set up a table during lunch Wednesday to sell baked goods?"

"Of course, Alfred, that sounds like a great idea."

"I thought so too! Thanks Mr. Jenkins." Alfred's face lit up and the principal winked at him.

He turned towards Ivan and his smile seemed to become more strained. "It's nice to see you doing something productive for once Mr. Braginski. Don't hold Alfred back like you've been doing with this school."

Ivan smiled at him, the smile holding no joy. "Well, of course not, Jonathon, I'll be doing my part for this project too." He set his hand on Alfred's shoulder and sneered. "And maybe your favorite student will rub off on me." Alfred glanced at him, confused, but he ignored it. "We should probably be going now. Thanks for allowing us to hold our fundraiser, _sir_." Ivan turned on his heel and left the office with Alfred following quickly after nodding his own thanks.

Once they were outside of the school, Alfred broke the silence by saying, "What did he mean?"

"By what?"

"The… the holding the school back thing"

"It's nothing, Alfred; we do not need to discuss this, at least, not yet. When will I be going to your house?"

"Tomorrow" Alfred oddly quiet and Ivan glanced at him to make sure he was still ok. He looked lost in thought, a small pout on his lips, and Ivan caught himself admiring those lips. They looked so soft, but, what was he thinking? All the strange things that had happened today must be getting to him. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Ivan." Alfred said, pulling Ivan out of his thoughts.

"Da, I will see you then." He watched as Alfred climbed into his truck and drove off before climbing into his own vehicle, sighing loudly as he thought of what would happen when he got home. Maybe he would not go home tonight. It would just be one night, but, no, then it would be worse for him the next day. Bracing himself, Ivan headed home, thoughts focusing on how Alfred, and their plans for tomorrow. Maybe those thoughts would get him through the night. Maybe…

**Well… I would love some constructive criticism. And, I hope you guys like it better than I do. I'll try to do better next time, especially with the time I update. Thanks for reading ^_^ **

** Also, I had to read Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, in my English class, and, it's one of the best stories ever, but, I nearly died laughing when I read page 59. It's the chapter titled "Moscow" and this conversation happens between Marji and her uncle when her uncle shows her a picture of his family and his ex-wife's head is scratched out.**

**Marji: "Why doesn't the lady have a head?"**

**Uncle: "She was my wife. We are divorced."**

**Marji: "Ok, but why is her head scratched out?"**

**Uncle: "Russians aren't like us…"**

**Marji: "What? They don't have heads?"**

**Uncle: "It's hearts they don't have. They don't know how to love."**

** I thought this was just perfect XD Well, anyway, I hope you liked the chapter! Byee~**


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